In automotive vehicles in which a fuel pump is installed in a fuel tank, the pump inlet is located at the bottom of the tank. When the fuel level is low, the cornering of a vehicle may cause sloshing of the fuel to one side or the other and cause admission of air to the pump inlet. This may cause a fuel interruption and a stall-out.
The present invention provides for a vertical reservoir in the tank and the positioning of the pump in the reservoir with the inlet adjacent the bottom of the reservoir. A filter is movably mounted adjacent the bottom of the reservoir to control an inlet valve.
The object of this design is to insure that an adequate fuel supply will reach the pump if there is a fast cornering or a steep ascent or descent which would temporarily starve the fuel inlet when the fuel supply in the tank is low, e.g., less than a gallon.
Another object is the feeding of fuel from the reservoir only when there is no fuel available through the main inlet filter, or under other unusual circumstances, such as water in the tank.
A further object of the invention is the provision of a fuel reservoir in the tank and a vertical standpipe formed in part thereof to provide a fuel tower and to contain a fuel level sensor which will register the volume of fuel in the main tank independent of the fuel in the reservoir. As a significant cost reduction, one wall portion of the fuel tower can be formed by one element of the fuel sensor, thus providing a vertical inexpensive sensor chamber.
Another object is the utilization of the pump recirculation fluid to maintain the fuel in the reserve reservoir independent of the fuel level in the main tank.
Other objects and features of the invention will be apparent in the following description and claims in which the principles of the invention are set forth together with details to enable a person skilled in the art to practice the invention, all in connection with the best mode presently contemplated for the invention.